# certificates vs vault

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | certificates | vault |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 72/100 | 78/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #1 of 2 in PKI | #1 of 12 in Secrets Management |
| GitHub stars | 9 020 | 36 448 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +120 | +165 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 10 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.30.2 · 23 Mar 2026 | v2.2.1 · 22 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Other |
| Main language | Go | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

vault scores 78/100 against 72/100 for certificates, so it is the safer default.

vault ships more often: 10 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for certificates.

If you want the quickest setup, certificates is easier to run; vault needs more configuration.

## Details

- [certificates](https://selfhost.directory/project/certificates) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/certificates.md)
- [vault](https://selfhost.directory/project/vault) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/vault.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/certificates-vs-vault